
Member Reviews

Olive suffers from anxiety and is dealing with grief over losing her brother and having her family hate her. Stella’s father has Parkinson’s there are heavy elements on this story which you don’t normally see in romance but they’re done so well.
I also loved the fake dating trope and how the move from fake dating to real romance. I do think the middle dragged just a little bit and became repetitive with their insecurities. But overall really great story

A very interesting read. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this book. It wasn't really for me, but I am sure that it will be loved by the right audience.

I am very thankful to have been gifted a copy of this book; however, at this point this book will be moving to my DNF shelf. It sounds like something I would have really enjoyed, and will happily come back and re-review once I am in a better mindset for the book.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
This book follows Olive and Stella after a video of them goes viral where Olive saves someone's life. They both decide to fake date to help benefit both of their lives.
I read this back in October of 2023, and have read so many books since. Due to this my memory of this book is not the best. I remember really liking this book when I read this, I liked the fake dating and the characterization of the characters in this book. However, it was pretty forgettable. I would recommend this book as a palette cleanser or a book for someone that is looking for an entrance into sapphic romances or sapphic literature.

GYAH!!! What a great read! Olive and Stella are beautifully written and I loved every second with them! This one’s definitely given me a book hangover! ;)

Fake dating after a viral moment? Count me in! I really enjoyed Stella and Olive ad characters. They were both real and layered and I loved them both. The romance was sweet and the development felt real.

I didn't even realize this was a debut! I loved this story and the character's. Not only did I love Stella and Olive together, I thought they were great on their own. I liked the lightheartedness, but this also had depth which really made me love reading it.

I was really excited for this one because I love opposites attract! Unfortunately, it was a DNF for me. It just wasn’t grabbing my attention and I was really struggling to get through it.

Andie Burke's Fly With Me is a delightful and heartwarming romantic comedy that takes readers on a whirlwind journey of love and self-discovery. I enjoy a fake dating trope, and this book delivered.
Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

DNFed - I chose to DNF this book in the past. I am typing as a review so it doesn’t harm my %. I haven’t chose to pick the title back up.

“Anxiety is real and challenging, and I’m not going to pretend I know how to handle it for everyone. But for Margaret we had one particular technique that helped. We started by acknowledging her fears and how fear can be a blessing and a curse. Fear at its most basic is a way of protecting ourselves. You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.”
At its core, this is a really sweet sapphic love story. Olive is an ER nurse who is afraid of flying. When she is forced to get on a plane to get to a race at DisneyWorld in honor of her late brother, she never anticipated becoming the nation’s next hero. There’s a medical emergency on board and Olive is the only medical professional who can help out. The plane is diverted and Olive isn’t sure how she will reach Florida in time. Enter Stella, the co-pilot of the flight Olive was on. She witnessed Olive’s heroic act on the plane and offers to take Olive to Florida because she can. As Olive and Stella spend more time together, they realize they like each other and they would be perfect to fake date each other. It’s perfect: Olive is in the news a lot now and Stella can charm the heck out of anyone. And Stella? She’s up for a promotion at work and having a partner might make her look better to her boss.
Things I Liked:
-Fake dating is a trope I typically enjoy. This certainly didn’t disappoint.
-Stella is so dang organized. Like Leslie Knope level of organized. And I loved every second of it. While I often lack the motivation to make binders for every aspect of my life, I can definitely stand behind a character who goes all out thinking through every scenario and organizing it into one binder. Perfect, really.
-The banter between Olive and Stella was *chef’s kiss* Fucking fantastic.
-Stella caring for her dad? 🥹
-A realistic portrayal of anxiety and how it manifests. Facing your anxieties is so dang hard and I’m so proud of Olive for her work on facing her fear of flying head on.
Things That Didn’t Work for Me:
-I swear, if I had to hear the phrase “Murphy’s Law” one more time… we get it. Olive has bad luck. I don’t think that play on her last name needed to be stated every single time something that didn’t work out for Olive.
-Olive had a super toxic ex. I’m sorry, but if Olive was seeing a good therapist, there is no way she wouldn’t have gotten her apartment key back or had the locks changed. In fact, she wouldn’t even be in any sort of communication with her ex. I can’t think of a single therapist I’ve had in my life that would allow me to maintain contact with/about an ex that was as toxic as she was. It just didn’t make sense.
-Why oh why could Olive not make her feelings towards Stella known? I know the formula of romance novels but I will never understand characters in today’s day and age who won’t communicate with each other. Clear communication is a staple in relationships and I just feel like this relationship was one that was built on lies - “we’re just friends” - and I don’t know if I can believe in the longevity of it. Maybe I’m too old to read about characters playing games with their love interests?!
**Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, and NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

This was a good debut but don't let the cover fool you - there are some serious topics discussed and both main characters are tackling some demons. I feel for Olive so much, I definitely thought that between her toxic ex and her family issues, she definitely had no breathing room. Stella is also dealing with a lot on her end. I always love fake dating trope and in this instance I definitely laughed out loud when Stella showed up with her binder on fake dating. That being said, I felt like the ensuing romance between the two characters was a bit superficial. Given everything they are going through, I thought there would be some real deep moments and while there was a few, I feel like them exploring the emotional side a little more would've been beneficial. In particular, I felt like we didn't get to know Stella much outside of these things that were happening to her/that she was dealing with. The third act breakup was also really brutal... I went between the ebook and audiobook for this one but enjoyed the narration so much I ended up mainly listening to the audiobook.
Rating: 3.5 rounded up to 4.
CW: death, toxic relationship, grief, illness, misogyny, panic attacks/disorders.
Thank you to St Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC/ALC. All opinions are my own.

I read this one a while ago but I never reviewed it on Netgalley (sorry!). I loved this one. The characters are dealing with real life issues (anxiety, PTSD, taking care of ailing relatives) and I really liked how that was talked about openly rather than the characters just being picture perfect. Another great queer romcom!

This book was a little rough for me. There was dar too much miscommunication in it for me, but I really enjoyed the premise, but the execution fell a little flat for me.
The anxiety and grief themes were done well and I thought they were written well.

An adorable fake dating romance for a quick and enjoyable read. ER nurse Olive, and stunning co-pilot Stella, have a chance meeting that they decide to take advantage of to help themselves out. While I’ve never heard of an in real life fake dating scenario, I love reading about them on the page. Why not?! It introduces some fun absurdity from the beginning and takes us for a fun ride, or flight, in this case.

Olive and Stella were such a cute couple and I enjoyed reading their love story. As most of us can relate to trying to hiding the fact we have feelings for someone I found this to be a fun perspective as I wanted to yell at both of the main characters to just tell each other how they felt and then I realized I understand why my bestfriend always yells at me for keeping my feelings in. So I have to go apologize to her but I’m definitely not sharing my feelings still because it’s SCARY. Olive and Stella both were two sides of the same coin with their fears and I love that they conquered them together!
*I received a free ARC from Netgalley*

This was a wonderful romantic dramady that took a queer spin to the fake dating trope. I really enjoyed the humanity of the characters, and felt that the author handled a lot of sensitive subjects with care, whle also making sure the story had some humor and light heartedness. This was a predictable story line, but when I want to sit down with a comfort read, I'm totally fine with predictable. I appreciated the queer rep in the book and that this was representative.

I really liked this book! For many different reasons! I love how both Olive and Stella have their own baggage and issues that are addressed through out the story! It is a very sweet love story and spicy as well.

I went into this book not knowing what to expect. And was very pleasantly surprised. Olive was so relatable. Actually, both main characters were well-developed and realistic. They had a strong chemistry from their first meeting. And the story was complex, taking on several difficult themes with grace. Yet also creating fun and intriguing storylines. This book tugged on my heartstrings the way any good romance should.

This was cute! I enjoyed the romance, and the mental health representation (especially as a person with ADHD and anxiety myself).
The whole fake relationship aspect was a little over the top at times, but overall it worked. One thing that stuck out that I really liked was a scene where Olive’s es tried to make Stella jealous. I was ready for the big fight and all that, but was pleasantly surprised that the author did not follow the predictable setup, but rather showed that Stella understood exactly what was going on and stood by Olive.
Overall - very enjoyable! Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader cope (ARC)!